Neither Here, Nor There
by EmberlynEalise
Summary: Life is never the same after death as Bella is learning every day. The love of her young life has died and though she knows he'll never return she still see's his likeness in the face of an infuriating stranger. Could it be? AU, AH.
1. Faulted

**Disclaimer: Although I would love to take credit of SM's work, I am not her nor do I pretend to be. Let's face it. If I was then things would have ended very differently in the Twilight Series.**

**Neither Here, Nor There  
><strong>**Faulted**

_I remember the day you died as though it were yesterday rather than months ago. It is ingrained in my mind in vision of fire and brimstone that is less of a memory and more of my own death sentence. Though I walk the Earth still, I died along with you._

_For having skipped school I awoke fairly early that morning. The uncharacteristically bright sun rose to just the right height at roughly a quarter to seven when it began to reflect in my vanity mirror. The light would have been bearable had I merely covered my head with the blanket but then I would have suffocated from the heat. It was a losing battle that forced me from my bed._

_Had I known then the regrets that plague at me now, I would have worn green. For some reason you that never bother to tell me, you preferred when I wore dark green. You would drive me insane staring into my eyes talking about how stunning they were to the point where I'd taken everything in my wardrobe that resembled that shade and place it in the very back, out of sight and out of mind. I would have made an exception that day._

_My hair would have framed my face before it fell past my shoulders in subtle chocolate waves. For once, I wouldn't even have slapped your hand away when you tried to twirl it around you finger. Secretly, I've always loved it despite the fact that it looked wild when you were done. Secretly, I think you already knew that._

_I would have worn a bit of mascara, dabbed on lip gloss even. If nothing else I would have at least brushed my teeth._

_Unfortunately for the both of us, that didn't happen. When you called to tell me that you were on your way to the school I was lying on my couch taking a late nap with my right hand buried inside a bowl of popcorn. I'm sorry that I lied about school letting out early. I couldn't sit through another lecture about how I wouldn't be able to join you at University if I didn't start taking my studies seriously. You always put school first, Edward, and what did that get you?_

_Anger is a useless emotion but it's all that I have left. You took everything from me when you left. You took your brother who was the only one who could make me laugh when I was sad. You took your sister who I thought of as my own. You took my partner in crime though in my grief it was probably for the best. You took my best friend when I needed her most._

_You took my future._

_I have no one and nothing and for that I don't forgive you._

_Sometimes I sit by myself and think about that day along with all the things I would change. I wouldn't have stopped kissing you on my doorstep no matter how many times Alice laid on the horn. I would have kept my mouth shut about your sweaty hand holding mine as you tried to shift gears. I'd like to think that I would have been honest when you asked me where Alice ran off to at the party but I think that would have just made things worse. You wouldn't have understood._

_We should have never gone to that party. Sure, it was a rite of passage for all the seniors leaving for college but you and I had never been the type to follow the masses. You wanted to stay in, I wanted to go out. Why didn't you just tell me 'no'?_

_The memories I have from the party are mostly vague. Rosalie had been overly emotional about everyone leaving, crying as soon as she saw me though I was one of the few not going anywhere. Alice and her boyfriend found out that she was a 'three beer drunk'. As protective of her as you were it surprised me that you never noticed and even went so far as to tell her secret boyfriend to keep her away from other guys. I think the lapse in judgment had something to do with my being tipsy and very affectionate._

_I recall being alone with you in Mike Newton's room. Hormones were high making our brains practically dysfunctional. It's the only excuse I can think of for why we thought losing our virginities in a stranger's bed was a good idea. Luckily, we didn't get that far._

_I have nightmares starring Rosalie, her black shadow standing in the doorway and your body disappearing from my side. She'd fought with Emmett who then got drunk and acted like a jerk. I didn't want you to go but I kept my mouth shut because he was your brother. You were responsible for each other._

_You promised you'd be right back, that you'd drive him home and we start were we left off when you returned. How was I supposed to know it was a lie?_

_When you left I didn't kiss you good-bye. I was being a brat and sulking about being left behind because of Emmett's stupidity though it's now my own stupidity that I regret most._

_Half an hour later I was slowly becoming more annoyed that you hadn't made it back yet._

_An hour later I was drinking my fourth bottle since you left and complaining to Rosalie._

_Two hours later and fear began to sober me. Rosalie assured me that you probably got caught sneaking Emmett into the house and I went along with it though I knew that if that were the case Alice would have received a panicked phone call from your parents by then._

_We made arrangements with Jasper for him to drive Alice and me to your house while Rosalie followed in Emmett's truck. The plan was for her to drop the truck there and walk with me to my house to spend the night. She was in desperate need of 'girl talk' and I was already feeling lonely about her leaving with you and Emmett at the end of the summer. I needed that time with her._

_Once situated, we took off. Alice sat in the front next to Jasper with me in the back resting my head against the window. I was exhausted as the alcohol sloshed in my stomach so I tried to concentrate on the radio to stay awake with my eyes closed. The next thing I recall were flickering lights behind my lids._

_The car jolted to a stop and I opened my eyes as I heard Alice start screaming. Her door flew open and I lifted my head in the direction of the lights unsure of what I was seeing at first._

_There were a couple of police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance. There was a bent guard rail on the small bridge that went over Cole Creek. I could see the black underbelly of a red car._

_The world stopped spinning._

_I remember running from the car toward you paying no mind to the scene of Jasper restraining Alice. The yellow tape was already out but I ducked under it without anyone even noticing, distracted by the scene your sister caused I'm sure. I screamed your name as I skidded through the glass on my knees to the driver side door where I attempted to get it open. It wouldn't budge and my tears began to blur my vision._

_I screamed for you again as I crawled halfway through the broken window trying to get to your seat belt clasp thinking that if I undid it you could crawl out. I tugged and tugged until hands grabbed me from behind._

_Kicking and thrashing I tried to get back to your lifeless body as it stared ahead so sure they you only needed to be let out but the officer refused to let me go. He carried me back in the direction of Alice who I could see sobbing into Jasper's chest. That was until she saw me._

"_You!" she screamed with hatred and venom. Shock flashed in Jasper's eyes as he barely kept hands on her when she went for me. "You did this to him! You let him go! You let him die! You killed them!" Jasper's look changed to one of pity._

_I went limp with disbelief as she accused me of what I felt in my heart was true. I never even tried to stop you from driving. I may as well have killed you myself._

_The officer holding me suddenly thought better of returning me to Jasper's car and instead placed me in the back of his cruiser where I could not easily escape though the fight inside me had dissipated. He said something to Jasper who nodded and began pulling Alice back to his car while she was still screaming curses at me. I watched, hating myself, until her anger was directed elsewhere._

_I didn't hear what she said and Rosalie's blank expression never changed as she stood on the opposite side of Emmett's truck watching the scene but I assume it was the same thing. It was Rosalie's fault too._

_Rosalie stood there after Hunter drove away having had the officer who restrained me help him force Alice into the car. She stood there after the man got leave from his superior to take me home. I hear she stood there until they forced her to go home._

_The night haunts me like no other and I relived it every day this summer without fail. Rosalie made it easier for a while but eventually she left for school. Alice never forgave me and I can only assume that Hunter has taken her side. I feel the loss of you and Emmett the most. But with all of that being said, with all of these things I know to be true, why did I see you today when I drove past the school?_

**AN: So, this is the preface to a ghost story unlike any I've read. I currently have 15 Chapters already written but I will only be posting them once a week. The reason I'm doing this is because I've actually started using a separate website where I write with all of my own characters, descriptions, and personalities. If you're interested in experiencing this in the way that it was originally intended then please go to the link "www (dot) wattpad (dot) com (forward slash) 1432080 (dash) neither (dash) here (dash) nor (dash) there". You can log in using Facebook or Twitter if you're interested in leaving a review there as well. Otherwise, you can expect the next chapter around this time next week. **

**Ember.**


	2. Haunted

**Disclaimer: Although I would love to take credit of SM's work, I am not her nor do I pretend to be. Let's face it, if I was then things would have ended very differently in the Twilight Series.**

** Neither Here, Nor There – Haunted  
>By Emberlyn Ealise<strong>

Just as it did every year, school started on a chilly Thursday around the middle of September in the town of Forks. It had been three days since the shock of the summer when I'd mistaken some random guy outside of my school as the love of my life, my sweet Edward. Looking back after having time to think about it and having talked it through with my dad I knew that it was merely the grief that caused the mistake.

Edward was dead and no amount of longing would return him to me.

Returning students had filled out the enrollment forms before Spring Break last semester, including me, but for some reason I thought to drive by the school around the time of late enrollment to have a look on my way home from retrieving a few notebooks and some pens from a nearby office supply store. A part of me wanted to prove that I could see the building, the parking lot, and the football field without be affected though it seemed another part of me had been looking for the exact opposite, longing for a hallucination. The latter half of my soul had not been disappointed and for that I spent an extra half hour emptying my stomach in the porcelain bowl on my first day of school.

Food hadn't even been an option that morning but that never seemed to keep the bile from rising in my throat. The lack of sustenance only made it worse because instead of the bad taste of pre-chewed toast I was stuck with the foul smell and burning sensation of stomach acid. Days like this had me fearing that the lining of my stomach might not even exist anymore.

Air whirled in my face wafting the smell of death in the most nauseating way as I flushed the remains and, at last, lay my head on the cool seat just in time to hear a knock on the bathroom door. "Bella, dear, are you alright?" questioned my mother timidly from the other side.

"Morning sickness," I answered in an attempt to be a normal smart mouthed teenager.

She sighed from her post outside the bathroom door mumbling something about sarcastic grandchildren and the apocalypse though I couldn't hear much. "Well, when you're done with that, brush your teeth and come find me downstairs. I'm driving you today."

Any other day I would have argued that I wasn't an invalid and could drive myself but even I was questioning my mental state. I made some noise of acknowledgment as I tried to peal my body off the floor."And change your shirt," mom called as she walked towards the stairs.

I looked down at my grey sweater to find what looked like drool mixed with baby poop just above my left breast. Mom had a weird way of knowing these things.

The sweater remained as I brushed my teeth and retied my hair into a band checking myself in the mirror. The figure returning my gaze looked like death. Her face was pale with dry, chapped lips and red tinted circles around grey eyes. Her vomit coated sweater looked two sizes too big hanging low over her dark denim jeans. The girl just didn't care, I knew the feeling well.

Unable to look too long at what I'd become I left the bathroom to change tops in my own room. It hadn't changed much over the summer. Rose and I had planned to paint, to brighten up the place, but circumstances prevented the activity. Neither of us had given any thought to her condition but mom intervened before we even bought the paint. There was a tentative paint date in the spring when her second semester would end.

Looking through my closet I was reminded of the botched shopping trip mom tried to force. She thought that by buying me a few new clothes I would forget about this aching crater in my heart and focus on matching shoes instead. It resulted in three plain sweaters, a pair of jeans, and a scene involving cheese fries in the Food Court where we were politely asked to leave.

In my defense, what kind of a guy hits on a girl when her mom leaves her to get a refill?

Reluctantly I removed my top careful not to let the remnants of my nervous outburst touch me before I tossed it behind me on the floor. There was a hamper not three feet away but I failed to understand the concept. Laundry in the laundry basket was an art lost on my generation.

Instead I grabbed a long sleeved, dark purple shirt with a hood and placed it over my head. The material was light enough to kept me from becoming overheated while the garment still hid me from view. I assumed I looked fine not wanting to deal with the face in the mirror if I checked. Depression caused a loss of too much weight when my grief turned into an inability to hold my food when I was emotional, which happened to be all of the time. If someone mentioned his name, wore his cologne, or called me 'Bunny' they would find me collapsed in a bathroom with a tear stained face.

Edward wasn't the only one to ever call me 'Bunny' but he had been the only one allowed. Just the mention of the word enticed a volatile reaction. I prayed that no one at school would try to console me though I didn't know who would. The only friends I had were either gone or hated me. I didn't need nor expect pity from strangers.

Wiping excess fluid from under my eyes I went down stairs to find mom in the kitchen. She looked at me for a minute with mixed emotions on her face though I didn't know if they were good or bad. I could tell that she was happy to see me functional and sad that I looked like a mental patient but everything else was lost to me.

"Are you ready?" she asked painting on the brave face we both needed. I nodded and followed her to the car grabbing my book bag resting next to the front door on my way to the passenger side of her four door sedan. As an only child I often wondered why she felt the need to invest in a 'mom car' but it seemed to suit her. Unlike my vehicle which was large and sturdy when I felt like a bicycle in desperate need of training wheels.

Music from her generation played through the speakers in the car, mementos of the late eighties when girl pants and eye liner was considered sexy. While I wasn't a fan I did agree with mom when she claimed that it was no worse than Emo nonsense my peers seemed to crave. It didn't take much to be better than that. We tried to make small talk but the close relationship we'd once had was strained. She couldn't understand how I could take Edward's death so hard for so long.

We'd been friends for most of our lives. I had pictures of an almost three year old Edward pushing my nearly two year old bottom on a swing, followed by picture of a seven year old Edward pushing me into the mud while his brother laughed. That was about the age when I became closer to his younger sister and stayed that way until he hit puberty. Leave it to hormones to turn a mean boy into a drooling buffoon.

But it wasn't just the loss of him that got to me. I was supposed to marry him, have children with him, and be Rosalie's bridesmaid when she married his brother. We were going to spend a year in Spain when we graduated college before coming home and living in a tiny apartment until we'd earned enough to build a house on the land his parents were planning to gift him and Emmett as graduation gifts. He wanted a daughter named Aurora Renee so that we could call her Rory. I wanted a son to carry his name though I swore I'd only ever call him Junior.

He took all of that with him.

"I'll be working until about three today so call if you're going to walk or get a ride with one of your friends," mom said breaking into my depressing bubble. "Otherwise, just wait and I'll be here a quarter after."

"Yeah, mom," I muttered digging through my bag for my class schedule only to come out empty handed. "Dammit."

"Something wrong?" mom asked not even surprised at my foul mouth.

"I can't find my time table," I huffed.

"I'm sure you can get another in the main office."

I knew she was trying to help but the oddest things would tick me off, like losing my time table, and mom saying anything at all only made it worse. "Whatever," I mumbled getting out and heading inside with my bag slung over one shoulder.

The ground didn't look particularly fascinating that morning but I stared at it anyway. Anything was better than a couple hundred beady little eyes watching to see if I would break apart. I wondered if it were the same for Alice hoping that she'd forgiven me and that we could have each others' backs until the school found something else to talk about. It was a long shot.

I pushed through the front door heading directly for the office. There were less people inside than out but that didn't make it any better. Everything was louder in the round including the whispers. I couldn't hear what was being said, I didn't want to, but I knew it was about me.

_Poor Bella and her dead boyfriend._

The office was the only place truly quiet. Once inside I took a deep breath to collect myself and smiled back at the face of Ms. Cope who greeted me kindly. "Good morning, Miss Swan. Is there something I can help you with?"

I didn't attend one of those tiny schools where everyone knew everyone else. Ms. Cope just happened to have dated one of my favorite teachers from sophomore year and we'd developed an easy friendship of sorts. "I lost my schedule and thought maybe you could print me another?" I asked quietly. My emotions were running high and I couldn't trust my voice not to crack.

Her look of pity had me staring at the floor yet again as I walked closer to the counter. "Of course, dear, you wait right here." I was thankful she didn't try to talk to me about it. There wasn't much I could say and I didn't feel like spending the day convincing everyone that I was fine.

While she typed away on her computer I busied myself tracing letters on the laminate taped to the counter. It was some sort of guideline, hallway rules or the dress code. I wasn't paying much more attention than to the word 'excess' that I was recreating with my fingernail. My mind was a blank slate of serenity.

"Mason," I heard a familiar masculine voice to the right of me say.

"Right, let me look that up for you," said a cheery older female voice. I assumed it was one of the other office personnel but I didn't dare look.

A few seconds passed where only the sound of fingers hitting keys and my ever increasing pants could be heard as I worked diligently to convince myself that I'd heard wrong. It was wishful thinking that sounded like _him_, not the boy next to me. If only I could force my eyes to look in his direction to know for sure.

"Here we are, Anthony," stated the older women as the bell rang. "And here's a map of the school to help you get around. Your first class is in the west wing which is that way and you'll want to hurry so you're not late. If you have any trouble…"

The explanation was drowned out by Ms. Cope returning to her spot in front of me. "Here you are, dear. First period is with Coach Mann so you'll have to change fast or you'll be late. Do I need to write you a note?" Her tone hinted at concern but it didn't hold my focus.

"Thanks," muttered the angelic voice next to me and all suspicions were confirmed. I knew that sound. I knew that man. This was all just a big misunderstanding.

"No," I practically shouted at Ms. Cope grabbing my schedule and turning to face Edward. Instead I faced a closing door.

As quickly as I could I rushed through the door just in time to spot Edward's disheveled copper mane through the crowd of students. "Edward," I called hearing my voice crack.

He couldn't hear me so I ran after him. "Edward," I called again taking notice as a few students parted for me but Edward didn't even slow down.

This time I screamed for him in the middle of the hallway, surrounded by my peers, seeing nothing but him. "Edward!"

I tried to shove past someone, or something since I can't be sure, and found myself knocked to the ground. As I attempted to get to my feet I found that I could no longer see him. "Edward," I whimpered with tears stinging my eyes. "Please," I cried though I had no idea why.

I remember collapsing.

I don't recall hearing anyone talk to me or even the tardy bell but I felt hands lift me from my armpits and a warm body cradle me as they carried me away. All I could think was, _Anywhere but here_.

**AN: So, what did you think? Leave your thoughts, questions, and concerns in a comment and I'll answer back within a few hours. I'm here a lot. Don't forget to vote as well and I'll see you next chapter unless, of course, you want to head over to Wattpad and get current with this story and all of my own original characters. www (dot) wattpad (dot) com (forward slash) 1432080 (dash) neither (dash) here (dash) nor (dash) there  
>Ember<strong>


	3. Unconvinced

**Disclaimer: Although I would love to take credit of SM's work, I am not her nor do I pretend to be. Let's face it, if I was then things would have ended very differently in the Twilight Series.**

**Neither Here, Nor There - Unconvinced  
><strong>**By Emberlyn Ealise **

"I'm okay, dad. It was a minor setback and I'm fine." Making eye contact with my dad wasn't easy with the no nonsense look on his face but I had to do it anyway. He had to believe that I could do things on my own. "Look, if I were you I'd be more concerned if nothing had happened yesterday. This just shows that I'm dealing with it, confronting it, and I'm going to school."

Of course, I didn't believe the words that were falling out of my mouth but I wouldn't tell him that. Truthfully, I didn't want to go back to that school ever again. I didn't want to sit in stuffy classrooms and think about how I used to watch the clock dying for that five minute interval where _he_ would take me by the hand and escort me to my next subject. I didn't want to sit at an empty lunch table missing Rose's constant styling tips for my hair or the way Emmett would talk in a girl's voice to tell me he'd kill for my thick locks. Mostly I couldn't stand the thought of the pitying looks, the whispers that would only get worse if I missed two days in a row.

Dad opened his mouth to object pointing a finger at me with the hand that was holding my car keys hostage. No time was wasted before I snatched them and pointed my finger at him effectively halting his train of thought.

"And I'll drive myself too," I told him turning to leave without further argument. Unlike mom, dad was a pushover. Anything his baby girl wanted, she got. I was counting on that to be what got me out the door that morning.

He didn't try to stop me, grab my arm and tell me that I was in no condition to drive. He just watched me turn right out of the kitchen where I opened the door and stopped myself.

It was colder than I'd been expecting and it hit me all at once. I froze looking out into the frosted morning thinking _isn't it still September? _The time of year never really meant much when it came to the weather. It rained too much in the summer, alternated ice and humidity throughout the fall, and often snowed well into spring. I consoled my grumpy disposition with the thought that in a year's time I'd be going to a university somewhere much warmer. _Anywhere but here._

"I can still drive you, princess." My breathing hitched when my father spoke. It wasn't that he snuck up on me though I hadn't expected him there. What had my heart aching was his term of endearment, princess. He hadn't called me that since I started middle school and decided that calling him 'daddy' was childish. I knew then that that probably hurt him more than he let on but he allowed it still, only to put his foot door a year later when my rebellious streak had me calling him by his first name, Charlie.

I sighed, "No, daddy. I need to do this on my own today." Another lie fell from my lips that dad didn't correct. Taking a deep breath I walked to my car, a black Honda CRV. I'd wanted something smaller, a smart car to be precise, but dad wanted something that had a little more to it in case I had an accident. It wasn't hard to see why.

Sometimes I'd found myself peeking out the window in the kitchen looking for Edward's red Audi only to have nightmares later involving that very car. I had loved that car. For all of my junior year I had ridden in that car every morning harassing Alice about having to sit in the back seat. Edward would scold us for rough housing saying that we were going to ruin the leather while we promised we wouldn't. We did, once, but that was just between me and Alice.

I buckled my seatbelt, adjusted my mirrors, and waved to dad still standing in the doorway before I put my foot on the brake and the car in reverse. Slowly I rolled down the driveway and into the street reminding my shaking hands that we only needed to make it three blocks. The reassurance didn't calm them so I made to turn on the heater. A blast of cold air reminded me that I'd be in the parking lot before it warmed up coercing me to return it to the 'off' setting and wrap my hands in my sleeves. Judging by the early drop in temperature, investing in a remote start was in my best interest.

There were less than ten minutes between leaving my driveway and arriving at school though I stopped at all four stop signs. I wanted it to take longer but such is life.

The student parking ran parallel along the left side of the building where many of my peers, and a few former friends, stood outside the school laughing and joking as though they were truly happy to see one another. A bunch of fakers they were. They'd be lucky to remember each other just a year after graduation. The only one's who'd stay in touch would be the ones to spend their lives in Fork's where every day was like high school all over again. Mom had told me so after my first date with Edward. I guess she thought I'd fall in love and never leave, like she did.

In the back closest to the road seemed the safest bet to find a parking space. It would be easier to make a quick exit after school without drawing much attention by being too visible. Sooner or later I'd run into Alice and if things were as they'd been all summer she'd have everyone hating me in no time.

I killed the engine and pocketed my keys before grabbing my bag and bracing for the cold. A jacket would have been the smart choice to make that morning and I probably would have remembered if I wasn't worried that my dad would come to his senses and take my keys again.

The cold made me shiver as I dug my keys back out of my pocket using the keyless entry to lock the doors. It beeped twice signaling that the alarm was set and drawing the attention of a few people leaning against a nearby red car. They watched me avoid their stares until I disappeared between another two vehicles making my way toward the school wondering if their eyes were still on my back. I wished I hadn't wasted my hooded sweat shirt on a day where I'd only spent five minutes in the building.

No one tried to talk to me as I passed but I felt the voices becoming more hushed. They weren't necessarily talking about me, just acting out of impulse. I could hear complaints about how strict the art teacher was already acting along with how intense the forensics class aimed to be. Everywhere around me was idle chit-chat that had me relaxing more with each step. I even spent less time staring at the ground though I still wasn't making any eye contact.

"Man, I'm so stoked about practice today. We get to go against all those nubes who…"

"He's just being unreasonable. One little speeding ticket and…"

"Dibs on fresh meat at 2 o' clock." I laughed quietly at the last one. Judging by the way he said it I assumed he didn't really know where '2 o' clock' was in relation to him.

And then it happened. "Is that her?" whispered a very feminine hushed voice. Without thinking my head snapped in the direction of the speaker to find an anorexic looking blonde stage whispering to a black haired girl about a head shorter than her. The tall blonde seemed leggy and naturally attractive though coated in artificial garbage that spoke volumes about her confidence. Rosalie would have made some joke about preferring a woman with a little meat on her bones unknowingly asking for Emmett to start pinching her love handles in agreement. Of course, neither were around to say anything at all.

The small girl stared back at me intensely. She had a mousy face complete with a thin mouth and a small nose. Her snowy skin complemented her spikes of raven hair and reddened cheeks. She looked like a doll dressed in a dirty school girl's uniform. An open white blouse wrapped in a plaid vest attempted to expose a set of breast that were barely there to begin with while the matching plaid skirt left nothing to the imagination. If I bent a little lower I would have been able to tell if she even bothered to wear underwear.

The effort she made to kill me with her eyes was just shy of succeeded. They at least made me want to kill myself. Regrettably, I knew those eyes. They were just like her brother's.

It caught me off guard that I once thought she looked just like a female version of Edward. Her hair had been more of a brownish red while his had been quite a bit brighter but they had the same fair skin, the same pale pink lips, and their eyes constantly changed in shades of green. Alice had been more like his twin than Emmett ever was.

Yet looking at her then I could see Emmett's choppy black hair, piercing blue eyes, and inconsolable temper. My best bet was to duck my head and keep walking. It seemed the start of the school year didn't have her aching for new beginnings.

The feeling of unease didn't fully dissipate when I walked through the double doors but it did lessen. I surveyed my surroundings to find several young couples becoming reacquainted after the long break, a few gossiping freshmen girls, and mostly just random students sitting against the walls relaxing before the start of the day. Edward and I had never been the type to flaunt public displays of affection but we could often be found working on the previous day's homework in a cuddling position of sorts. I pulled up the strap of my bag sighing to myself as I missed him.

I hadn't forgotten my time table this time but I already knew where my day would begin so I left it safely tucked in one of the outer pockets of my bag. Gym class was on the first floor of the three story school meaning that I needed to make my way to the nearest set of stair. I never understood why ground level was the second floor and the basement was the first. Regardless, not my school meant that it was not my problem. I only had a year left.

There were two sets of stairs in the school, one on my side of the east wing while the other was on the opposite side of the west. At first I tried to tell myself that I wanted to take the longer route and not be as early to gym but the truth was that I wanted to catch a glimpse of the new guy. I was convinced that if I saw him again I'd see how stupid I was being. I'd see that his eyes were too close together, that his hair was too dull, and that his voice was too deep. No matter what, I wouldn't see _him_.

The halls were pretty full on my way to gym reminding me that the bell would ring soon but the new guy was nowhere to be found. Maybe I'd imagined him altogether and I was actually just losing my mind. It sounded plausible. But there was no sign of him, just regular students and then stairs.

I realized then that I'd been hoping for the opposite. I'd wanted to see him again, to have the chance to hold him and tell him all the things I never would again. _I love you, Edward, _I thought as I descended the stairs to the first floor. A right at the bottom put me directly in front of Coach Mann's office. The hall just past it led to the gym but it seemed like a good idea to pick up my uniform and my locker number. A locker on the first floor was going to be a pain.

Knocking lightly I let myself in. "Coach?" I asked as a way of request permission to enter.

He was kicked back behind his desk look through his black playbook while chewing on a pencil. That is, until he saw me. The pencil dropped and his eyes bugged out as if he were the one seeing ghosts. I figured that with my absence the day before he hadn't actually expected me.

"Uh, Mr.…I mean, Coach Mann. I think I need to pick up my uniform." He still looked at me like a deer in headlights and I was afraid that this was all I had to look forward to for the rest of the day. "I wasn't here yesterday…"

My voice trailed off at the end seeming to bring him out of his stupor. "Right, uniform, right." I could almost see the light bulb come on in his head as he got to his feet. "You're a…small?"

I was not sure why but this was turning into the most awkward conversation I'd had in a long time. "Medium sweats, large T-shirt," I corrected.

He looked like he was about to argue with me on the subject but thought better of it. I doubt there was anything in the playbook of his on how to tell his seventeen year old female student that her breasts weren't that much bigger than her butt. They weren't bigger at all, my butt stuck out there while my breasts were still waiting on the proper hormones to kick in but I preferred to wear bigger clothes. I'd have gone with bigger pants too if there wasn't the risk of them falling off.

Coach closed his mouth and turned around to the shelf behind him grabbing a pair of black sweats with the fitted bottoms that would fall to my ankles and a white T-shirt with the Forks Panthers logo on the chest. He handed them to me with a forced smile. I didn't understand why everything had to be so weird. The whole school had lost Aaron and Dax yet I was the one being treated like a China doll.

Oh, right, I was the one screaming and crying in the hallway on the first day.

I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and took the uniform from his outstretched hand. "Did you assign lockers yesterday?"

"Right!" There was that light bulb again. "The football team has the lockers down here so you get to pick wherever you want your locker to be and then check with the teacher who is assigned to those lockers to see if she or he has one available," he explained.

"And in the meantime I just run around with my bag all day?" It came out more bitter than intended so I didn't even bother giving him a chance to answer. "I'll head to the girl's locker room. Thanks, Coach."

He nodded, probably still surprised at my rudeness. I didn't care. I wanted to change clothes, blend it with the girls, and then obliterate them in whatever was the sport of the day. It sounded like a plan to me.

**AN: Don't get mad. I know it may seem like a filler chapter but it's not. There's lots of good information here. Alice's gone through a dramatic change, Bella's making an effort not to be a nut, and I'm laying the ground work for some high anxiety next chapter. Bear with me and I think we'll so just fine. Or, you can see where this is all going the way it was originally intended at www (dot) wattpad (dot) com (forward slash) 1432080 (dash) neither (dash) here (dash) nor (dash) their  
>Ember<strong>


	4. Affronted

**Disclaimer: Although I would love to take credit of SM's work, I am not her nor do I pretend to be. Let's face it, if I was then things would have ended very differently in the Twilight Series.**

**Neither Here, Nor There - Affronted  
><strong>**By Emberlyn Ealise **

Gym was not what the course description claimed it to be. Not that it mattered; Physical Education was required for all four years as part of the "Fight Against Obesity" campaign. I hated that even after the campaign back fired and saw more ten year old girls becoming anorexic or bulimic, schools and business still stood by the program. Maybe it was just me but I didn't see America getting any thinner.

The sports training I'd been looking forward to didn't happen. Coach thought that with a two day week it would be pointless to start on a sport and instead led with aerobics. To say that turn kicks and alternating side lifts did nothing for mood would be putting it lightly. If anything, I was more aggressive for not being able to release the tension violently.

When class ended and I found myself in the girls locker room with girls I'd known most of my life I felt incredibly alone. They were chatting about things they had done over the summer. Lauren Mallory started dating Tyeler Crowly and seemed to think that things were getting more serious. Jessica Stanley went to stay with her Nona in Italy for two months and claimed that there was nothing like the Italian boys ultimately causing Tanya Denali to whisper to Lauren about her obvious weight gain while Jess was distracted in her search for her regular school clothes.

They were far from good friends but they were better than the no body that I had. Fully dressed Jess looked at me, looked like she was about to say something but never did. My only guess is that she already knew about my summer and was trying to be nice by not mentioning it. It wasn't as though I would have said, 'Oh, I just buried my boyfriend, spent nine weeks in therapy, and lost 30lbs to my unstable nerves' if she had asked.

Annoyed with her pitying looks I stuffed my gym clothes into my bag and left before the bell had rung. The tears that stung my eyes would have been much worse had anyone seen. It was obvious that all anyone saw looking at me was the sad little girl who couldn't cope. No one realized all that we had together.

Classes let out as I was almost to the chemistry lab making me the very first one through the door. I quickly asked Mr. Banner if he had assigned seats and where I might find mine. It was no surprise that I was near the back when he explained that he had gone alphabetically. I'd have rather been further from the door but I didn't argue. It was a quirk of mine that I couldn't explain.

As I took my seat I thought about the teasing I used to get from Edwardwhen I'd sleep over. Mom and dad never thought anything of my being at the Cullen house because I'd been having sleep overs with Alice since we were little kids. They had no idea that I'd been crawling into Edward's bed since he started the sixth grade. Alice was a rough sleeper and at that age was when Edward became like an older brother to me. Before that he'd been a tormentor like his brother, teasing me about my oversized teeth and my ears that stuck out too far. Afterwards he became everything else.

I still wear socks to bed because he complained about my cold feet.

Whenever I'd sneak across the hall to Edward's open door I'd immediately tiptoe around the foot of the bed to the opposite side which was, coincidently, the side he favored. He would sleep with the window open and the cool air would keep him from getting overheated under the mountain of blankets where he nested. When I whined that I couldn't sleep next to his door he gave in allowing me to have his spot but not without reminding me that a killer would probably come through the window anyway. What should have scared me only made me feel safer in his arms. Even then I knew that he would die before anyone got to me.

The class filtered through the door and my partner introduced himself as James Scott, a face I'd seen around the school but didn't know personally. "I'm Bella Swan," I told him, caught off guard by my timid sounding voice.

"I know," he said and then looked at me like he'd just accidently called me a vapid whore. Obviously he didn't mean to point out that the school was buzzing about me but it wasn't anything I didn't already know.

I nodded politely and we said nothing to each other for the rest of class. Mr. Banner kept us less than entertained with his chemistry based puns but the hour eventually passed and I found my way to Statistics. It would seem that the teachers at the school thoroughly enjoyed wasted students' time as no one had a real lesson plan that day. Mr. Black decided to get the kids interested by discussing the statistics involved in gambling as if it would appeal more to our generation. From my standpoint I knew that everyone in that class signed up for it rather than having it forced on them and so it would seem obvious that we would all already be interested. One would think.

Another wasted hour of my life went by yet my hopes remained high for my next subject. There was no way that Mrs. Clearwater would allow a minute of her time to go unused. With her I was sure to be entertained by star-crossed lovers, flappers and floozies, and possibly even the oblivious Nora Helmer in her ignorant little world. This would not be a year to find role models in literature.

I smiled when I came to the door labeled E210, my newfound sanctuary. The door was closed meaning that she probably hadn't had a class the last period. It would have been her one hour of course planning in the day without the interruptions of a class and so it startled me when I began to walk inside and found that I wasn't the first.

Mrs. Clearwater had arranged the desks so that they were three across and four deep, each large enough for two students and in the desk second from the front on the far right sat a boy with hair that I'd spent years running my hands through. His broad shoulders were hunched forward as his eyes scanned the pages of a small hardback book. Edward never liked the flimsiness that came with handling a paperback.

A bump from behind told me that I was blocking the entrance. A simple 'excuse me' would have gotten the same effect but it seemed that manners had died right along the same time as chivalry.

With a deep breath I approached the doppelganger. I didn't know what else to call the random new kid who just happened to be the spitting image of my dead boyfriend. For a fleeting moment I wonder if he might be a Zombie but the thought made me want to slap myself. I didn't live in some ridiculous television series filled with Werewolves and Vampires and Zombie boyfriends. This was Somerset High for heaven's sake.

He never looked up through my whole approach despite being able to see me easily in his peripherals. In turn I didn't ask if the seat was taking because I didn't want to disturb his reading. At least, that was what I initially thought. After I took my seat I toyed with the idea that I might have been afraid he wouldn't want me there. Edward would have wanted me there.

I stared ahead at Mrs. Clearwater as she watched the rest of the class drag themselves into the room. My body was rigid from the force of resisting its natural urge to gravitate toward the doppelganger. I wanted to look at him to prove that he was entirely different. That was the main reason I even took the seat next to him. But I didn't dare look. I'd see Edward's eyes and I'd fall apart.

The tardy bell rang and Mrs. Clearwater addressed us with a 'good morning' of sorts already passing out what looked like handmade flyers on construction paper to each of us. It was a dark purple with white stick figures telling a story that didn't understand at first.

"Twenty points of extra credit will go to the first person who can name the book," she announced and it began to make sense.

There was an obviously female form for starters, holding hands with a man carrying a football. In the next frame the football player can be seen with a different female judging by her larger breast as they were locked in passionate embrace. Mrs. Clearwater was quite the artist. The frame after that showed the first woman with a man in a military hat reminding me of an odd sort of wife swapping scenario.

By then I was completely confused. I didn't know of any story with characters so promiscuous. I looked to my desk mate and found his sheet lying off to the side while his nose remained buried in his book. That wasn't like Edward at all. My Edward always put his school work first and tried his hardest. The imposter couldn't have cared less.

"Is it The Great Gatsby?" asked someone behind me. I looked down the paper searching a few frames more and saw the busty female run over by a car. She was right.

"That is correct, Miss Byrd. For our first book we will be reading, dissecting, and creating dialectical journals on F Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale," Mrs. Clearwater advised the class in her dramatic way. "By a show of hands, who here has read this one?"

I raised my hand along with two others that did not include the imposter. Edward had read the book dozens of times without ever having it assigned to him and had loved it enough to demand that I read it as well so that we could discuss the symbolism he held so dear. Sometimes he came off as effeminate with his passion for nerdy things but it was just one of the many quirks that I loved about him.

Mrs. Clearwater continued excitedly explaining the lesson plan along with how she expected the dialectical journals to be formatted while I slowly picked at the mannerisms of the boy next to me to prove he was anyone but Edward. By the end of class I was convinced that I'd imagined it all and that this boy was no different than the others. So much so that when he stood to leave I threw caution aside and looked him directly in the eye.

The world stopped spinning when his dark blue eyes met mine. Darker than I'd ever seen them but I still knew them as his. His face was paler, his lips lighter, but he froze when I did and I knew it could be no one else. I felt my lips part in subtle surprise and I watched his eyes drop to them then immediately shut. A scowl took over his features allowing me to finally look away. My breath came out in shallow gasps as the faux wood table in front of me began to blur. It was Edward, it had to be, I'd know him and where.

My minds raced to thoughts of his overturned car, to my struggle to get inside and free him, to the official statement being 'dead on impact'. They told me he'd broken his neck, that it had been instantaneous. But this was him. It didn't matter that it was impossible. It was the look in his eyes.

"Miss Twist, are you alright," Mrs. Clearwater asked interrupting stunned form.

I looked up quickly to nod. "I'm fine, sorry. I was just thinking."

She gave me a soft smile as if to say that she understood but I doubted it. "Hmm, it looks like Mr. Mason forgot his cheat sheet," she commented picking up the purple piece of paper next to me.

"Who?" I questioned wanting to catch his name.

"Anthony Mason, dear. Your partner," she answered as though I should already know.

"Oh, I didn't catch his name."

"I see. Well, you'll want to get better acquainted then. He is going to be your partner for your senior paper after all." Again, I nodded. "It's lunchtime Miss Swan. I suggest you get some food and try to concentrate a little better this afternoon. School's only just begun." She tapped the desk by way of ending the discussion and walked back to her own getting a salad box out of the top drawer. I wasn't hungry but I couldn't stay there.

Tender on my feet I tottered from the class to the hall to be affronted by ice cold air. It was then that the nausea over took me barely allowing enough time to run to the girls room. I held back as long as I could but as soon as I was in a stall it all came out. There wasn't even time for me to set my bag down and instead books scattered between the floor in my stall and the one next to me. Again I regretted not being able to stomach breakfast.

After a few minutes of dry heaving I assumed I was all done and lay my head on the seat crying what I prayed were silent tears. I missed him so badly and this pitiful excuse for a human being that had been put in his place tortured me in ways I couldn't explain. Was I going to have to relive Edward's death every time I looked at Anthony, heard his voice, smelled him close to me? It would kill me.

"Are you alright?" asked a soft voice outside my stall.

I groaned.

"Should I get the nurse?" she tried again.

"Yes, please let her know that I haven't eaten in two days and I'm having hallucinations that my dead boyfriend is stalking me," I mumbled wiping at some of my vomit coated strands with the cheap toilet paper the school splurged to buy us ladies. I was thankful I'd already had it pulled back but there were a few piece of stray hairs that were not as lucky as the rest.

The girl didn't respond this time so I lifted myself and reached for my things only came up empty handed. Alarmed I quickly left the stall and came face to face with a sweet looking brunette holding my bag that had been refilled with my belongings a zipped closed.

"Hi, Bella," she said offering the comforting smile I'd seen on too many faces already.

"Hi, Angela." Angela had been a friend of Alice's at one time. She was a mousy little bookworm who thought that Alice was made of rainbow's and butterflies. It wasn't hard to believe back then. Alice had been the happiest person I knew. I assumed she no longer idolized her based of the fact that she was being nice to me.

She began to dig into her pocket for something. "I don't have a toothbrush on me but if you want to rinse your mouth out I do have some gum that'll help with the rest."

I nodded feeling like a bobble head and walked to the sink where a case of Dixie cups hung on the wall. I filled one with water which I gargled and spit before taking a strip of Big Red from Angela. The cinnamon helped a lot and I made a mental note to pick some up at the store.

Angela went to one of the towel holders and pulled out three sheets of the brown paper. She wet them and started dragging them over the gross hairs that I missed. It jarred me into wondering just how someone was so well versed in taking care of another person bordering bulimia. I didn't want to ask but I think she understood.

"My sister was like this when they started her chemo," she said quietly. That was right. Angela had had an older sister, Irena, who died of cancer at fourteen. We, Alice and I, had met Angela shortly after. I remembered that the way she used to talk about Irena made me wish we'd have met her sooner. She sounded amazing.

"I'm so sorry," I said not knowing what else would be appropriate.

"Me too," she replied, "for you."

I wanted to ask how long it took before things got better but by the way she was looking at me as she took care of me I could feel that the answer was never.

The bell rang for everyone to make their way to their next class. "We better get going," I told her. She nodded and threw away the towel while I picked up my bag that she'd sat next to me and started to leave.

"It never fully goes away but it does get easier," she said before I had made it out the door.

I wanted to respond, to say anything that would make her feel as though her words were useful but my mind came up blank. I just left her there.

Spanish would be my last class of the day. For seniors who had all of their high school credits and at least two college credits the administrators allowed one hour of free study. Everyone always placed it at the end of the day and went home early. I was no different.

Walking into the room I was bombarded by yellow walls and Spanish style banners and posters. It was, hands down, the most brightly decorated room in the school. I guessed that the fourth year Spanish teacher took things a little more seriously.

The classroom was filling as I began to look for a seat near the front of the class. An empty desk caught my eye and I almost walked toward it until a pair of familiar brown eyes met mine. I couldn't imagine how my day could get any worse.

Averting my gaze I took a seat in the back directly beside the exit and busied myself with getting my notebook and a pen until I felt someone slip into the desk to my left. I made the mistake of looking of to see those familiar hazel eyes dancing at me.

"What's up, Hells Bells," he asked and I laughed a real laugh partially at the stupid name I hadn't heard in so long but mostly I chuckled in relief at the knowledge that he didn't hate me.

"Nothing much, Jazzy Poo," I replied. We smiled at one another and I wondered how I ever thought I could have lost him.

"Some things never change."

"It's because we're old and set in our ways."

"What are you talking about? I'm eighteen years young." Jasper smoothed his hand over his jawline to show off his features.

"Then where did that gray hair come from," I teased pulling at a random piece on the right side of his head.

"Pssh! Almost a decade of you and Princess Alice, that's where," he stated slapping my hand away.

I didn't have time to reply before Ms. Rollo went right into the lesson. From there we didn't have a spare second to talk as she went around the room quizzing us individually on terms and verb conjugation. While I spoke the language well I still had trouble translating out of context and was embarrassed when my turn came.

My bad translation for 'may I purchase a bus ticket' was over shadowed by that fact that Jasper still only knew how to order a beer in Spanish. Ms. Rollo was not impressed by either of us.

The hour passed as all the others had and I soon found myself waiting for the bell.

"Hey, do you want me to walk you to your car?" Jasper asked.

I looked at him confused. "How do you know I don't have a sixth period?"

"Because I remember the fit that Edward threw last year we he found out we both signed up for a free period and he was trying to convince you I was a bad influence." He shrugged but kept smiling.

"That's right," I remembered."In his defense, you were a terrible influence." I smirked at his faux-shocked expression.

"I am deeply offended."

The bell rang and I just shook my head as I walked away.

He caught up in a matter of seconds. "You're cold."

"So I've been told. I didn't say you could walk with me."

"You didn't say I couldn't."

I started to tell him to get lost but someone else caught my eye. Toward the doors leaving the east wing I saw Anthony slamming his locker with a look of pure disgust centered on me. He whipped around towards the double doors and exited with more force than was required but I saw the anger there. Edwrad never looked at me that way.

"So, where's your locker anyway?" Jasper asked interrupting my thoughts.

"Shit!"

"What? Did we pass it?" He looked around perplexed.

"No, I forgot to ask for one." I felt like slapping myself in the forehead. "I'll just deal with it on Monday."

I started walking again and Jasper kept pace not saying a word until we made it to my car. There were a couple other seniors around but no one noticed us. "Umm, thanks," I said awkwardly and we just stood there for a minute. "Where's your car?"

He snapped out of an internal debate with a start. "Oh, over there." He pointed at the red car I'd passed that morning with the people staring at me. It dawned on me that he was probably one of them and I hadn't even noticed. The thought was depressing.

"Ah, well, I guess I'll see you on Monday?" I hadn't meant for it to sound like a question but his invasion of my personal space was getting to me.

Then he surprised me. He wrapped his arms around me and buried my head into the crook of his neck holding me tight. I was hugging him back before I even realized. "I've missed my partner in crime," he whispered and I laughed through sobs I didn't know I had.

"We'll have to rob a Piggly Wiggly soon," I teased.

He pulled back from meplacing a moist kiss on my forehead. "I'll start planning it."

Our foreheads then fell together and for a moment I was just happy that he was still himself, the same Jasper who'd taught me the meaning of a five finger discount. I needed something in my life that was constant and if I could have picked anything it would have been this.

With one last kiss on my forehead we said our 'goodbyes' and got in our cars. I sat behind the wheel and gripped it until my body finished crying itself dry. Then I reversed and made my way home.

**AN: I hope you all enjoyed the glimpse into Bella and Edward's past. Though brief, there will be more of these. Again, you can read the original work here: www (dot) wattpad (dot) com (forward slash) 1432080 (dash) neither (dash) here (dash) nor (dash) their  
>Ember<strong>


	5. Rushed

**Disclaimer: Although I would love to take credit of SM's work, I am not her nor do I pretend to be. Let's face it, if I was then things would have ended very differently in the Twilight Series.**

**Neither Here, Nor There - Rushed**  
><strong>By Emberlyn Ealise<strong>

The worst thing about the start of school was that after two days of waking at 7 o'clock my body felt that 7:30 was considered sleeping late. I'm not sure quite why but I was blaming Anthony for my foul mood. My only guess was that he'd shown up in my dream at some point or I wouldn't even have been thinking about him. An educated guess, if you will.

The sun was up yet barely noticeable behind thick clouds giving me the perfect excuse to roll over and go back to sleep. My blankets were warm, my eyes were droopy, and my dad was making a racket in the kitchen.

"Shit!" muttered his muffled voice from down stairs.

_I'm up, _I thought.

Still clad in white ankle socks I hardly noticed the coldness of the hardwood beneath my feet as I started toward the stairs. Mom was already gone for work leaving dad to his own devices which never came of any good. It was a miracle he survived at all before mom to come along.

Quietly, I tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs leaning against the wall on the last step to watch as he ran his hand under water. My mind jumped to memories of the time he cut his hand trying to peel an orange with a knife and we'd had to rush him to the emergency room. It was nothing that an extra-large Band-Aid couldn't have fixed but dad had been so sure the he severed something and would never be able to use his thumb again.

_Men are such babies, _I thought while trying not to laugh at him. "Need a ride to the hospital?" I teased.

Dad half turned back to look at me with a scowl. "Your sass is not appreciated."

I shrugged and made my way into the kitchen is search of omelet ingredients. "Nor is your callous waste of earth's natural resources," I quipped gesturing to the still running water. It didn't really bother me since I was sure I wouldn't be alive by the time that it mattered nor did I plan on having children in the foreseeable future but mom would have had something to say about it. She worked for a marketing firm out of town that put her in charge of getting local businesses to 'go green'. It was boring but paid decent.

He shut off the water and found a towel to dry with. "I burned my arm," he stated as if that cleared up the mystery. I just stared at him. "Your mother left the damn coffee pot on again I was going to dump it in the sink before it burned the house down but I was looking out the window and thought I saw…someone." He shook his head like he thought he was the one going crazy.

"Happens to me all the time," I offered think about Edward and the way I saw his face every time I looked at Anthony. Suddenly I felt like I might not even be able to stomach drinking orange juice for breakfast, let alone an omlette. Grudgingly, I started placing the bacon and green onions back in the refrigerator. I hadn't even gotten to the eggs yet.

Dad looked at me in that sad way that he liked to do from time to time. From anyone else, it was annoying. From dad it made me want to wrap my arms him and cry. I'd cried enough.

"Are you okay, Princess?" he asked coming toward me.

I halted him mid step with a hand in the air. "I'm fine, dad. You need to get ready for work."

He stood there in his slacks and dress shoes with a with white dress shirt that had the left sleeve rolled up though it was obviously soaked. We both knew that he should have been gone already so he nodded to me, not knowing what else to say, he started towards the stairs undressing as he went. There was a time when work meant a uniform and a sidearm. Now, he was lucky the still allowed him to sit behind a desk.

I filled a glass with grapefruit juice and went into the living room to watch the latest version of Power Rangers. With already having ninja, samurai, dinosaur, and whatever else I wondered how long it would be before they ran out of things to turn them into. That didn't keep me from watching intently.

On his way out dad passed by the couch to kiss me on the forehead stating that he would be home around the same time as mom. No matter when they left for work they both always made it home before dinner. It made family time easy and came in really handy for the weeks I spent seeing a therapist over the summer. Dr. Gerandy said that the routine probably helped my recovery more than I realized though I didn't feel I'd recovered at all.

The rest of the morning went something like this: Power Rangers, Power Rangers, laundry, SpongeBob, nap, lunch (popcorn), My Life as a Teenage Robot, stomach ache, and a cold bath.

I could have gone out and done something with the friends that I didn't have but the television kept saying, "Stay right there and we'll be back." It seemed rude to leave.

Just after three I received a notice on my phone that a friend had just logged into my webcam service and I immediately rushed to the computer in my bedroom. Rosalie's face was already smiling back at me.

"Hello, beautiful," she sang.

"Right back at you," I said taking my seat in front of the camera. "Both of you," I corrected.

She smiled and rubbed her stomach. "The doctor says that I'm 22 weeks now." The loving tone in her voice could not be mistaken.

"That's great. Does this mean we can find out the sex yet?" I wanted to know so badly so that I could start picking up cloths and bedding and all the stuff I knew she wouldn't be able to afford while going to school.

She nodded beaming at me.

"It's a boy! I knew it," I practically screamed.

Rosalie just shrugged her shoulders and kept smiling.

"Are we having a boy or not?"

"I don't know," she said finally.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "We're both lucky you're not here because I've never hit a pregnant woman and I don't want to start now. Why don't you know?"

She coddled her stomach again and shrugged. "I guess it just doesn't feel right for me to know and not him." Her voice was laced with sadness as she missed Emmett so much. I, on the other hand, wanted to resurrect him and punch him in the groin. Rosalie carried more than her share of blame on her shoulders all because she told him the night he drank himself stupid.

There were times when I wanted to blame Emmett. If he hadn't have gotten drunk then Edward wouldn't have needed to take him home but regardless of where the accident stemmed from it didn't change the fact that Edward had be the driver and that Edward had caused the accident that took them both from us.

"Oh," was all I could say.

We sat there for a few seconds before Rosalie broke the silence. "How was your first day of school?" she asked.

I scoffed. "Great, truly, I caused a scene in the round as I tried to stalk Edward's ghost."

The look on her face had me trying not to laugh. She looked absolutely flabbergasted. "You did what?"

"In my defense, his ghost is my Lit partner," I said confusing her further.

"I'm calling the psych ward." She pretended to get her cell phone out.

"I'm a size medium in straight jackets."

Rosalie scowled. "You had better start from the beginning."

"Yes, mom," I teased before launching into how I'd seen him before school started and how he'd been in the office with me. I told her that I thought I was going crazy because no one else looked at him twice. When I mentioned how I noticed they wore the same cologne in Lit class she stopped me.

"That's enough," she said holding her hand out to the camera, "Is he a Zombie?"

I laughed having already wondered myself. "If he is, he's extremely well put together."

"Okay, a Vampire maybe?"

"I've seen him out in the daylight."

"Blade was a Daywalker!" she announced as if it solved everything.

"And your insane," I laughed.

She shook her head laughing with me. "Hey, I was always told that if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and leaves feathers behind then it's probably a duck."

"Well, there is one difference," I corrected.

Rosalie arched a well-manicured eyebrow.

"Anthony can't stand me."

"Done! He's a Vampire," she concluded.

"Be serious."

"I am. He's a Vampire and he's come back to be with you but he thirsts for your blood and thinks that he might kill you but truthfully his soul would never allow it…" She went on for a few minutes while I pretended to listen. The pregnancy hormones had robbed her of her intelligence.

When she was finished I gave her a look of utter annoyance. "You need to lay off the romance novels," I teased.

We went on to talk about all the other worldly creatures Edward could be and why he would act like he didn't like me but it was all in good fun. It actually put a nice spin on the situation which was making me seem more and more silly for acting the way I did about Anthony. He was just a boy trying to fit in at a new school with a nut mistaking him for a dead guy. Thinking about it that way made me feel bad for him.

When mom came home around 5 she said 'hi' to Rose, gushed about the baby, and told me to hurry so that we could start dinner. It didn't really bother me since we'd been talking for a while but we were still reluctant to sign off.

"Hey, before you go, I was wondering how things were going with Alice."

When she mentioned her I didn't immediately think of Alice but of Hunter. His smile popped into my head and I remembered how easy talking to him had been. It was almost like talking to Rose.

Rose mistook my look of nostalgia, unfortunately. "Better, I'm guessing?"

I swiftly came back down to Earth. "Umm, no. She still hates me from what I can tell." The glare I received Friday morning had me convinced.

"Oh," Rose paused, "Then what was that gooey look for?"

Again I saw vision of Hunter awkwardly scratching the back of his head and felt myself blush. "Mom's calling for me. I'll talk to you later. Love ya, sis," I rushed unplugging the computer with my foot before she could say another word. I could have just logged out but a panicked mind does not think rationally.

I joined mom in the kitchen and we started getting things together for Chicken Spaghetti in silence. I knew that she wanted to know about how school was going but anytime she said anything I answered with single syllable responses. 'Fine', 'Good', 'Neat'. It was no wonder that she gave up but how could I explain to her what was happening without making her call the therapist again. No one reacted quite like Rose.

"Did you and Rosie have a good chat?" she asked.

"Uh huh."

"You miss her don't you?" she tried again.

"Yeah."

"What did the two of you talk about?"

"Stuff." At this point it was becoming a game. I was just waiting for the moment where she'd smack me in the back of the head.

She sighed. "When will she be back for a visit?"

"Thanksgiving."

"Ha," she said triumphantly. "That's two words."

"No, mom, it was just one," I amended.

"That's fine because that was six, right there," she said smugly.

"No fair, you cheated."

She was about to respond when we heard my phone ringing from the couch where'd I'd left it before rushing to talk to Rose. I just knew it was her calling so I made mom go get it.

From the kitchen I could hear her polite voice saying, "And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

Obviously it wasn't Rose. I followed mom into the living room trying to figure out who it could be. "Of course, Jasper, she's right here."

I waved my hands like a maniac not wanting to take the call but she thrust the phone into them and with a knowing grin she sauntered into the kitchen.

"Hey, Jazz," I said awkwardly. I'd had the same number since I was 13 so it wasn't a surprise that he knew it, just that he called.

"Hey, Bells, what are you up to?" he asked cheerily as if we talked all the time.

"Umm, nothing?"

"Great! I was about to go grab a bite to eat at that seafood place we love and I thought I'd bring you along." I stopped in my tracks.

Just on the outskirts of town was a shack looking place call Cranky Cajun Crabs where they sold the best crab cakes and alligator bites that I'd ever eaten. Edward always hated seafood and refused to take me but Jasper and I were two of a kind. The first time we went we spent over $100 but it was well worth it.

My mouth watered.

"Actually, I'm already making dinner here with my mom so I can't," I told him without a second thought. I wasn't ready to go back.

"Oh," he said pausing for a moment, "What are you guys making?"

I panicked. He was looking for a dinner invite but mom would turn it into something else and I wasn't ready for either. "Chicken. Sorry, I have to go. Mom needs my help. I'll see you at school on Monday." I hung up quickly realizing I'd just done to him what I'd done to Rose. If I wasn't careful I wouldn't have any friends left.

Mom stood in the dining room next to the kitchen with a clever smirk on her lips. I wanted to smack her too.

**AN: Honestly, I don't feel that this is up to my usual standards but it was a difficult chapter for me. I'm ready to get to the action but there's ground work that need to be laid first. ****Again, you can read the original work here: www (dot) wattpad (dot) com (forward slash) 1432080 (dash) neither (dash) here (dash) nor (dash) their  
><strong>**Ember**


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